


What Adventures Will Come Next

by WatcheroftheHearts



Category: Megamind (2010)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-10 02:19:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatcheroftheHearts/pseuds/WatcheroftheHearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel to What They've Needed All Along! Takes place not long after the defeat of Adam (see What They've Needed), there's a wedding to plan, the city is constantly calling for the assistance of the hero every moment of the day, and some long lost acquaintances show up. It's never a dull moment in Metro City!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Hello again friends! I'm so glad you're back for the sequel! This is a work in progress so I do hope you stick around as it grows! Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The days following their engagement had passed by in a blissful serenity. It had taken all of Roxanne's willpower to get out of bed on her first morning back to work, but Richard had sent her an e-mail telling her that he had something important to inform her about and therefore her "nosy reporter" senses were tingling. She bundled up against what the television had already warned would be a blustery cold day and practically hugged the mug of coffee Minion handed her when she realized just how cold it was outside. She shrugged deeper into her favorite blue coat and new black scarf as she made the short travel from car to office.

"Good morning Roxanne. I trust you had a good holiday?" Richard greeted her as he walked into her office as soon as he saw that she had sat down.

"Yeah Richard, thanks. It was really nice. Yours?"

"Oh very relaxing, we spent the holiday up in the cabin. Mother was a right pip as always." He shook his head in an affectionate annoyance. "Anyway, I know you've only just gotten back in, but there's something I wanted to talk to you about." He went to hand a folder over to her but stopped as he watched her left hand brush her bangs out of her eyes. "Roxanne?  _What_ is  _that_?" he reached out and pulled the hand towards him.

And then a sound emitted from his throat that Roxanne never would have expected to hear come out of her boss. "You little minx! You've been holding out on us! Congratulations are in order! When did this happen?"

For as small a man as he was, Richard's voice could carry through walls. And soon enough several of Roxanne's coworkers had popped their heads over their cubicles if not walked right into her office to gather around her and ogle the ring that sat on her finger.

"You'll have to let us give you a shout out on the air!" exclaimed Tom, one of the desk reporters. Roxanne agreed and watched as he eagerly ran off. Several others of the writers and smaller reporters ran off, but she was still left with a sizable group surrounding her.

"All right, all right! Move along! Maid of Honor coming through!" Reena called out as she pushed through the mini-mob.

_Reena had come home the day after New Years and Minion had practically jumped at the chance to pick her up at the airport. Megamind and Roxanne had both given him a very knowing look but the fish brushed them off and said it was the polite thing to do for someone who had helped them out as much as she had._

_With Minion's driving it didn't take long before Reena ran into the sitting room of the Lair; laden with bags._

" _I've brought presents!" she placed the bags down on the floor and hurried to hug both Roxanne and Megamind, leaving the blue alien stunned. One look at Minion told him that he'd received the same greeting at the gate. Reena could often get in exuberant moods like this and with what Roxanne was sure to be several cups of caffeine in her system the blonde was not likely to slow down anytime soon._

" _W-well first why don't we have a snack? I'm sure you're hungry from your flight." Roxanne said in an attempt to tell her friend the good news while she had the chance. She looked to Mykael and Minion and jerked her head towards the door. The pair quickly picked up on her suggestion and hurried away with exclamations of what to grab._

" _Well… I guess I could go for a little something." Reena shrugged and sat down on the couch next to Roxanne. The reporter looked around to make sure they were alone before she smiled sneakily to Reena._

" _What have you got up your sleeve?" Reena asked. She didn't have to wait long for an answer as Roxanne lifted her hand to shoulder height; wiggling her fingers in the air. Reena's eyes opened wide as saucers and she grabbed Roxanne's hand to better look at the ring._

" _Roxie! Blue Boy proposed?" she practically squealed and pulled Roxanne's hand closer. "It's beautiful!"_

_Reena continued to hold Roxanne's hand, staring down at the impressive ring. After a moment Roxanne gave her hand a gentle squeeze and Reena's eyes traveled up to Roxanne's face. Her best friend smiled at her almost pleadingly and raised an eyebrow. No words were needed and Reena brought the woman into a squishing hug._

" _Yes! Of course! What are besties for?"_

Reena leaned up against Roxanne's desk and smirked, shaking her head.

"You realize that you won't have any peace by lunch time?"

* * *

Sure enough; at the lunchtime news Roxanne's engagement to Metro City hero Megamind had been announced and the calls began pouring in. Different stations called to confirm the announcement and to request permission to announce it as well. Several papers and magazines called asking Roxanne for interviews, but she politely informed them that she would have to speak with her fiancé first. And then there were the emails; fans and old colleague alike had began flooding her email and by the time it was time to go home Roxanne was feeling exhausted. She began to gather her things to go home, ready for some peace, when Richard burst back into her office.

"Roxanne! In all the excitement I nearly completely forgot! I have a very important offer for you!" He handed her the same folder he had tried to earlier. "It's another international piece. You're to go to London this time; seems there's a young up and coming scientist there; and seeing as you live with a scientific genius.. I-"

"You figured I'd be perfect for the part?" Roxanne smirked at him, saving him from saying it aloud. He chuckled, nodding his head.

"You'll be there for a week; I figure a few days for the report and a few to just enjoy the city. You and your crew will have a guide: Charles Pembroke. Now I know that this is a bit soon after well…your big news.."

Roxanne thumbed through the folder quickly and then looked back up to Richard.

"It's no trouble at all Richard; I just need to pack and get a few things in order."

"Fantastic! Your flight leaves on Thursday!"

* * *

When Roxanne returned back home that night she walked into the kitchen to find Minion preparing dinner. The small television was on and Roxanne sighed as the trio of reporters sat at their news desk and talked excitedly about her engagement.

"Good news travels fast I see."

"It's practically all they've talked about all day long." Minion said.

"Why? People get engaged every day." Roxanne sighed and plopped down onto the stool at the breakfast nook. "I think I received hundreds of emails today." She rubbed her forehead, willing the headache away.

"Well yes, but it's not every day that someone gets engaged to the city's hero." Mykael said with a chuckle as he entered the room and Roxanne spun around to look at him. His sleeves were rolled up and he was covered in grease. He wiped his hands on the towel that he held. "I thought I heard you come in." he leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek, smirking as a smudge of grease left his nose and smeared her cheek.

"And just in time too, dinner is- SIR! Just look at you!" Minion huffed. He had turned around from the stove, ready to announce that dinner was ready, and instead was shocked by his friend's grease covered appearance. "Go and clean up right now!"

"But you just said that it was dinner time…" he stopped as he took in Minion's stern look. Feeling rather like a child he huffed and turned to go clean up. Roxanne chuckled as she looked from Mykael's retreating back to Minion's face. "It's just as well…I kind of wanted to change into something more comfortable. I'll be sure that we are both here in five minutes." She called back to him as she hurried down the hall to their bedroom.

* * *

"You've been very quiet tonight; is everything okay?" Mykael asked. It was true; over dinner Roxanne had been very quiet. She had attentively listened in on the boys' discussion about the work that had been done on the Hudson, and the attempts to put an invisibility shield on the bike, but she had otherwise remained quiet. Slowly she placed her spoon from dessert back into the bowl and nodded.

"Yes, but…I have some news."

Instantly the blue man's face blanched.

"N-news? What kind of news?" he swallowed nervously. Instantly a number of different possibilities began swarming around in his head; that her job was sending her to a different state; that the town had turned on him and he was to go back to jail; that she was pregnant…

"You're not pregnant are you?" he asked. " _Not_ that that would be a terrible thing it's just well..it's so sudden and, well not that I wouldn't want children with you.. I just.." he stopped his quick speech as he realized that she was laughing.

"No silly, I'm not pregnant." She giggled. They had spoken about having children before and while neither was opposed to the idea, they preferred to at least be married first. "No it's about work. They want to send me on a trip for a special report… to London."

"London?"

"Oh Miss Ritchi, that's just wonderful! I hear that some of the best restaurants are there; it's not France, but it's still good! When do you leave?"

"Now hold on…" Megamind put a hand up trying to pause the situation. "London? That's pretty far away. What's this all for?"

"Some sort of report; I haven't really read the briefing yet. Richard told me it's about some young and up-and-coming scientist. I'd only be gone for a week.  _But_  I have to leave Thursday."

"Thursday?"

"I know…I wasn't too happy about it either, and Richard feels really bad. But; well, this is a really big shot. I can't say no." she said. Mykael frowned slightly before reaching forwards for her hand and taking it in his.

"I just… maybe you could stay home? There's a dozen other reporters who could take it. And you could stay here…where it's safe." His eyes pleaded with her and she knew that he was thinking back to her last international endeavor; when on live air she'd been knocked to the ground by an angry mob and had to be dragged out by her crew. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"This won't be like last time; it's completely different. I'll be safe; we have a guide and I'll be staying inside of the city."

"And accommodations?"

"We'll be staying in a hotel; Richard even promised me my own room; for the inconvenience of having to leave so soon."

"We'll upgrade it to a suite." He said quickly.

"W-what?" she said, rather confused.

"A suite; and I'll come along."

"Sweetie… as much as I appreciate that, and believe me I would  _love_  to go on an honest to goodness vacation with you, the city needs you." She smiled to him. He slumped only slightly, and smirked crookedly.

"Well, I suppose that you have a point there. But you can't blame a guy for trying. Well you'll still need a crew. A  _competent_  crew." He said when she opened her mouth to say something. "You can bring some of the reserve bots. I'm sure you'll all have bags and what not, and you never know what sort of mis _cree-ants_  are hanging about a place like London."

Roxanne chuckled; she really couldn't say no to that.

* * *

Later that night, Roxanne sat curled up on the couch in the lab, reading over the folder that Richard had handed her earlier. She made a thoughtful hum in the back of her throat; which caught the attention of her blue companion. He looked away from his sketches of plans for something he had in the works.

"Find something interesting?"

"Just reading up on this scientist that I'm supposed to be interviewing; kid is more like it. He's only sixteen!"

"Really? Is he some sort of genius then?"

"I suppose, it says here he was homeschooled, graduated early and has since been experimenting in physics. Recently by accident he discovered what he claims could be a natural unending power source."

Mykael shrugged, unimpressed. "What's the big deal? My people did that years ago."

Roxanne smirked.

"He's trying to claim he invented a new element." she said.

"Nobody can invent a new element…that's preposteroos. It's been attempted; but the atoms burned out too quickly. Could he discover a lost one or even a new one? Sure. But even that is unlikely. He'd have to be as smart as me to do that."

Roxanne couldn't disagree with him there; she'd read the same articles that Mykael had; she knew of the brilliant man from the other side of the country who had discovered a long lost element. Since his findings hundreds of scientists had attempted to find or invent their own elements to get their names in the light. Only one group had thus gotten close and their atoms had burnt out before a second was even up.

"What's his name?" Minion asked out of curiosity. Perhaps they could research it online and put that wonder to rest.

"Stuart Gregward Winston." Roxanne read from her pages.

Slowly hero and sidekick stopped their tasks and slowly turned to look at Roxanne in disbelief. She shrugged and the pair looked to each other with barely restrained smiles, biting back their giggles before bursting into raucous laughter.

"Gregward!"

" _Stuart_  Gregward, sir!"

"It's like a bad butler, and banker all rolled into one!"

"Oh how unfortunate!"

"Oh that's the best thing I've heard all week!"

Roxanne chuckled in spite of herself. It was moments like this that especially made her smile; moments when they were all gathered around, even if while preoccupied with their own tasks, and there could be felt that warmth of family; and moments where she could sit back and laugh as she watched her boys joke and laugh, and often act, like children. These were the moments that she lived for and what made her long days worth it all.


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"You don't have to go."

"It's my job."

"Please stay. Get someone else to go for you. We can put the disguise generator on Minion." His suggestion elicited a soft chuckle from her.

"Don't think that I haven't considered asking Reena to wear it."

"Oh yes Reena… much better on-air charisma." His words were broken by the gasp that escaped him when her lips brushed against his ear.

Their whispers mingled through the dark of night as they lay wrapped around one another; hands stroked over bare skin as tender kisses followed. Roxanne was due to be on her flight in but a few short hours. She knew that they were both thinking about the last time she had gone on an international broadcast and had gotten caught up in the middle of a riot and had been bowled over before she was saved by her crew. His green eyes looked over her face, soaking in every detail. It wasn't like they hadn't been apart before; but now with her trip impending he didn't want to see her go. He'd tried countless times to convince himself that she'd be safe but that overprotective side of him that hadn't left since the Titan incident was going strong. He entwined his fingers with hers, kissing the knuckles of her left hand.

"I'll come then; leave Minion to watch over the city."

"Not that I don't have every confidence in Minion, but what if something terrible happens and the city needs you?"

"Roxanne…" he buried his face into her neck and brushed his lips against the soft skin there. She arched her body into his, sighing.

"I'll be fine. It's completely safe."

"I'll miss you." He replied, not bothering to hide his pleading. He leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheeks, her ears, her eyes, her temples; every inch of her face that he could manage to cherish.

"I'll miss you too. But I'll only be gone a week. I'll be back before you know it." She said it more to convince herself than him. Their eyes met again and they moved in together like magnets and melted into one another.

* * *

 

A few hours later that they sat in the invisible Hudson in the parking lot. Roxanne wrung her hands in her lap and let out a nervous sigh as she looked at the building looming outside.

"Are you okay?"

"I hate flying." She muttered and he snorted back his laughter.

"What? How? You've flown on the hover bike enough times! And you were flown in Metro Mahn's arms more times than I like to think about." He said. She smirked at this.

"Well yes, but I never really  _liked_  flying with Wayne…I was still scared. With you it's different; I always felt safe, because I know that you're in control. This though; a huge plane that by all means shouldn't be able to lift itself into the sky, being piloted by somebody I don't even know; where anything can go wrong…. It's all a bit intimidating." She looked to him sheepishly. His eyes traveled from the airport and back to her before he swept in and crushed his lips against hers in a kiss so passionately desperate that she had to fist her hand into the fabric of his shirt to stay grounded. His hands locked around her waist and he squeezed against the material there, wishing that it was out of the way. Roxanne climbed over the center console to climb into his lap and brought her hands up to cup either side of his head. She pulled back only a fraction to take the breath that had been stolen from her before she tilted her head and brought her lips back to his. She opened her mouth slightly and lightly dragged her teeth along his bottom lip. He shivered under her and his hands drew up to tangle in her hair before he crushed her lips in a fierce hunger. She slid a hand around his shoulder and her fingers lightly ghosted along the back of his neck. He let out a throaty moan at the sensation; the vibration of his sounds sent a tingle through her body and she pressed closer against him, brushing her lips down his jaw.

He rocked his hips up towards her, gripping at her sides, and her own moan broke through the air. Roxanne pulled back from his lips with a gasp and turned to double check that the car was in invisibility mode. Even upon being positive that it was her eyes still flicked quickly through the parking lot for anyone nearby.

They were alone.

She turned her blue eyes back to him, catching the curious look that he was giving her. She raised an eyebrow and her lips turned up into a sultry smirk; he quickly caught on as she pushed him towards the backseat of the car.

 

* * *

Their breaths slowed and they nestled together; Roxanne rested her head in the crook of his neck. Her mind slowly defogged itself and she snapped up and looked at her watch…6pm. She should have been on her flight three hours ago!

"Well…at least we have one more night together." He smirked. The rational part of her was upset; this was one less day now. Now instead of landing, eating and going to sleep she was going to have to land, throw her stuff into her hotel room, and get herself and the brain bots to a meeting with her human crew. But as she looked at those piercing green eyes that looked at her with a sort of worship, she felt herself not caring about the flight. One more night was exactly what she needed.

Roxanne had had the good luck to get her ticket transferred without an extra fee, but that also meant taking a six am flight.

"I'll land there at about…twelve noon. So-"

"So I'll be expecting your call at six pm here…seven to be safe." He chuckled and kissed her forehead. She'd been fretting again about flying and being so late. Richard had surprisingly not been upset that she'd missed her flight; unexpected car troubles had been her excuse. He'd sent an email to those who had already made it but that didn't ease her worries. After a final kiss goodbye Roxanne boarded the plane. She felt oddly alone with all of the brain bots in the hangar below and began counting down the hours until they would be on the ground once more.

Sometime after her first transfer Roxanne fell asleep. She woke up to a darkened cabin and could just barely make out the sound of the deep beating bass of music over the engines. She looked around, wondering if perhaps somebody had their headphones up.

The mystery of the music was solved when the plane touched down and Roxanne was escorted to the plane hangar by security. The hatch door was opened and music blasted out. Not only had the brain bots somehow procured a beach ball with which to play volleyball, and another group were roughly pulling on what had probably once been a pair of sneakers, but they had attached a set of speakers to one of their brothers, which explained the very loud rock music. A large beach umbrella had also been opened up and was held up by a stack of bags. It looked like they had decided to throw their own luau. She folded her arms and aimed a rather scolding look towards the brain bots. One by one those closest to the door noticed Mommy's presence and signaled to the rest to stop what they were doing. Pinky was the first to approach Roxanne, acting for all the world as if she had been against the idea the entire time. Roxanne drummed her fingers against her arm and looked to the rest of the brain bot comrades. Slowly they filed themselves out; a few of them dedicated themselves to carrying Roxanne's bags. She apologized to security, and handed the man a few bills to give to the owner of the belongings that had been destroyed, and followed the line of brain bots outside and to the waiting cab. It seemed like they all knew that they were in trouble as they stayed completely well behaved all the way into the room; which as promised by Mykael, was a beautiful suite. Roxanne took her time to shut the door and kick off her shoes. Finally she turned to the group of very guilty bots, who floated together in the middle of the room, awaiting their punishment. Mommy could have quite the temper when angry and they feared that they really were in for it.

"So you all realize that you should be in a  _lot_ of trouble, right? And I really should punish you all." Her eyes scanned over them all and there were a few regretful bowgs. " _But_  we  _are_ in London and grounding you all just wouldn't seem fair. " her eyes roamed over each bot. "And honestly for the life of me I just can't figure out where you even got that beach ball from!" she chuckled and slowly the bots eased up. "And maybe, just this once, Daddy doesn't have to know about what happened. Now come on, we're supposed to meet everyone downstairs for a meeting."

When Roxanne walked into the conference room she was instantly greeted by her fellow KMCP members. She was then approached by a taller, well dressed, fit man who had hints of grey in his black hair.

"You must be Roxanne Ritchi. I'm Charles Pembroke. It's a pleasure to meet you." He shocked her by placing a kiss on each of her cheeks. "Now as much as I'd love for a chance to get to know more about you, we've got business to discuss first." He turned, leading her towards the table, and it was not lost on Roxanne the way that his eyes roved up and down her body. Throughout the meeting Roxanne did not miss the not-so-subtle glances that Charles was sending her. Pinky and Fang, both sensing her discomfort, floated on either side of her until the ending of the meeting; Pinky's menacing gaze remained steady on the man and he stopped glancing her way.

 

* * *

Much later than expected Roxanne finally called home. In the chaos of the brain bots' hangar party, and rushing to the hotel, and the painfully long meeting, Roxanne had not had a chance to call the one man that she'd been thinking of since she had left home. She had given Mykael a rundown of her day, leaving out a few particular details, and was just getting into bed. It was excruciatingly late, but she was still on Metro City time and though she was tired her mind was very much awake. She knew that there was also very little chance of her fiancé falling asleep anytime soon, even though he assured her that he was "climbing into bed at that very moment" and she could just make out the sounds of rustling in the background.

"Huh…Miss Ritchi… the oddest thing seems to have occurred."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Well you see, no good hero can sleep without his pa-jhamas… and yet my shirt seems to have disappeared…along with several other crucial pieces of underclothing. You wouldn't happen to know where they might have gone?"

Roxanne smirked and snuggled down into the bed even more; well aware of the silky bottoms that she wore and the funny top with the little hazard symbols on it.

"Now why on earth would I have any clue where your clothes are?"

"Just curiosity my dear; I was wondering perhaps if they had landed by accident into the hamper, or even your suitcase."

"And just what would you do about it if they somehow did manage to make it all the way across the ocean with me?" she probed.

"Well I would tell you to open up the top front pocket of your suitcase and see what's inside."

"What?" Roxanne asked. She got up from the bed and made her way to the suitcase in question. She unzipped the pocket indicated and reached inside. Her hand came into contact with something small and she pulled out her find. It was a necklace; the pendant was a small replica of his symbol; a sparkling M of white crystals with a lightning bolt of sparkling black and blue crystals. She smirked and watched how the light bounced off of it.

"Anything to spoil me, huh?" she teased him.

"Are you complaining?"

"Not at all." Though Roxanne was not one to need sparkly gifts to know that she was loved, she certainly wouldn't complain about being pampered in the way that she was. Mykael certainly did love to treat her and she knew that it was his own way of showing her and the world what she meant to him, and she was in no way going to squash that. "Thank you, I love it, and I love you."

She could hear him smiling through the phone as he returned her sentiments and bade her goodnight. Roxanne made to climb back into the bed but before she did she took a quick look around the room, making sure that all the brain bots were in their hibernation mode, before she reached into her carry on and pulled out the small blue bear from her birthday. She smirked, feeling silly, but being so far away from home she needed just a little something more. Roxanne snuggled back under the covers and brought the bear close under her chin. On her other side Pinky woke up just enough to float over and rest at the top of Roxanne's pillow and her soft pink glow gave off a comforting feeling. Roxanne slowly drifted off to sleep, knowing that she would need all the rest that she could get before tomorrow's first interview.

 

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Roxanne awoke to a loud shrill ringing sound and fumbled from her blankets for the telephone. She nearly dropped it and fumbled with it for a moment before bringing it to her ear.

"-ollo?" she said as her face was split wide with a yawn.

"Good morning Miss Ritchi! We hope you slept well. Your breakfast will be up to your room in just a few minutes. Today's weather promises to be a cloudy 38 degrees, that's in Fahrenheit, so be sure to bundle up! Have a wonderful day!" the cheery girl on the other end hung up, leaving Roxanne to wonder just two things; how much coffee had that girl had, and  _what_  breakfast?

Fifteen minutes later Roxanne was just getting out of the shower when she heard a knock on her room door. A crisply dressed man pushing a wheeled cart walked in when she opened the door and asked her where she would like her breakfast. Breakfast, as it turned out, was a fresh steaming omelet, toast with jam, orange juice, coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit. Roxanne smirked and made a mental note to call home later to thank a certain blue hero for his thoughtfulness.

After breakfast, which while good left something to be desired after she had been so spoiled from Minion's omelets, Roxanne turned to her closet. The brain bots had unpacked her suitcase for her and everything hung neatly in garment bags. She finally chose a purple sweater dress and paired it with a pair of black tights and her tall black boots. Roxanne was just fixing her belt and calling for Pinky to gather the other brain bots when yet another knock sounded at her door. Only after checking through the peep-hole did she open the door.

"Charles? H-" Roxanne remembered her manners just in time to stop from asking just how he had found her room and fixed a practiced smile to her lips. "Good morning. What brings you here?"

"Well I was just passing through and thought I might come up and see if you might want to grab a coffee with me before the day begins? We've got nearly half an hour before we have to be at Mr. Winston's for the exhibition." He flashed a kind smile towards her and Roxanne idly debated between veneers or an excellent dentist.

"S-sure Charles, coffee sounds nice. Give me just a second okay?" she turned, leaving him at the open door so that she could grab her coat and bag and usher the brain bots from the room.

"Fascinating creatures." Charles observed as they made their way down the hallway. "When I got the e-mail that you'd be bringing along highly advanced robots to help with everything I certainly wasn't expecting this." He chuckled and waved his hand in gesture to the group of brain bots floating around them.

"Yes, we figured that it would make everything easier as far as luggage and cameras go. Fang and Pinky help in filming all of my news reports back home." She said, gesturing to the two bots she had mentioned.

"And I believe they were all invented by your fascinating fiancé."

"Yes…" there was something about his tone of voice that made Roxanne bristle. "We have hundreds more back home. Though I take all the credit for this one." She patted Pinky's dome. "She was badly damaged protecting me, so I fixed her up and redesigned her entire body."

"Clearly your intellect matches your exceptional beauty." He smiled again. Roxanne had to bite her tongue at what had been meant to be a compliment; it came off far too creepy to be kind. She sighed and looked to her cell phone for the time; it was far too early back home for anyone to really be awake. All the same, she knew her fiancé's odd sleeping habits and knew that even if he were actually sleeping for once that he would eventually answer. And so as Charles turned for a moment to press the elevator button Roxanne snapped a quick picture and sent it. She hadn't anticipated the quick reply that she got.

"That is our fearless leader…Mr. Innappropriate himself." she had sent.

"Anything I should be worried about?" even through a text she could hear his teasing tone of voice.

"Nothing a little de-gun action can't handle." She smirked when she hit the send button and her fingers flew across the phone before she sent off a second message. "What are you doing up so early? Not any trouble I hope?"

"None at all, my dear, I had an idea while on patrol."

"Roxanne, are you even listening at all?" Charles' voice broke through and caught her attention.

"Hm? Oh sorry…what?" She gave him a polite smile. She had hardly even realized that by now they were outside on the sidewalk and she had simply just been following along.

"I was simply stating how different London must be from such a drab city such as Metro City."

"Well then you've never been to Metro City." Came her sharp retort. If she were completely honest, while it was nice to get away to someplace different, she found London dreary and grey compared to the gleaming city of home. She felt satisfied at the way Charles' lips turned into a downward grimace and she looked back to her phone to send off another text.

"Well I won't keep you. I'm about to meet Stuart."

"I expect a picture of Gregward as well Miss Ritchi ;)."

"Of course. I love you."

"I love you more." He replied. She smiled, knowing that if she tried to contest that he would constantly fight it until she gave in.

An hour later Roxanne stood in a large room filled with various white boards and computers. The anticipated Stuart Gregward Winston stood before the small group of reporters explaining his newest idea that, in his opinion, could revolutionize the world. Stuart was, in every sense of the word, a nerd. He was short and thin and he continuously played with the thick framed glasses that sat on his nose. His hair was a mop of unruly curls of dark brown and he gave off the look of someone who continuously ran his hands through his hair. If anything could be said of Stuart Winston it was that he was as boring as he was young, with a disgustingly pompous attitude to match. As she had promised she sent a picture of the young man to her genius back home; she hadn't received a reply, but fully expected that he and Minion had fallen to the floor in laughter. Stuart spent their first hour together informing the small group of reporters of his life accomplishments; of how he graduated at a young age and went on to university, of his high gpa and of his discoveries and inventions. As she looked around though, Roxanne wondered for a moment if he hadn't simply been watching Megamind for years and had used his inventions for inspiration.

Fang had been recording every moment of their time together for the station to edit into a showpiece when they got back home and Pinky floated close by, observing everything with curiosity. As they were led to Stuart's centerpiece of the day Roxanne's own curiosity peaked; for on top of a pillar rested a glass box inside of which was a strange glowing ring. Roxanne could hear the murmurs and sounds of amazement from the other reporters but could not find herself impressed. Something just seemed odd.

"Pinky…run a scan for me." Roxanne whispered as she nodded towards the small structure. The pink bot bowged in response and hovered as close as she dared to the glowing box.

"And this is my pride and glory right here; the element that promises to run a full city for years to come." He never saw as Pinky made her way back to Roxanne and the reporter ignored whatever else he was saying to read on the small screen she had installed into Pinky's new body.

"Now you say you invented this element all on your own?" a short plucky man questioned, his pen hovering above his notepad. Roxanne couldn't stop the snort that escaped from the back of her throat.

"You can't create an element…" she muttered. She felt all the eyes in the room turn to her. Roxanne cleared her throat and kept her eyes locked on the young man. She'd already abandoned her manners, might as well keep on with the tough-reporter attitude; she reserved it only for special occasions and she figured this one called for it. "Forgive me, but it's impossible to _create_ a new element…if anything you've rediscovered an element that's been lost."

He smirked at her then, and an overly-confident chuckle sounded from him.

"Miss Ritchi is in fact, for all points and purposes, correct. While I did not invent a new element, per se, I did find a way to make separate elements work together to form an energy source. By using a simple combination of palladium and gamma rays, I have built a power source which will run using no electricity and emit its own form of energy. It will never die and is extremely cost effective." His eyes floated over to Roxanne who was looking at him with her brow furrowed.

"Couldn't that combination be potentially dangerous?" she challenged. Stuart chuckled again, keeping that same smirk pasted on his lips.

"You seem to know more than you let on, Miss Ritchi."

"Well I'm only saying that, potentially, this could be a very fatal combination. With energy like that coursing through it, if it were to be struck or overcharged it could explode, couldn't it?"

"Those are very extreme and very rare examples."

"Rare, yes, but they are still potential situations that need to be considered. For all the power coursing out of that thing, if anything were to happen it could blow this entire place sky high. And you want to actually make one big enough to power the whole city?" She kept her eyes on him while the other reporters looked from one another and then back to Roxanne and Stuart. She watched as the corner of one of his eyes twitched.

"I've read a great deal about your famous fiancé's intellect… I wonder if this is all stemming from his own fear of competition, or if you're really so intelligent as to know of what you speak." he challenged.

"Oh I know a great deal Stuart; enough to know that your little experiment over there is a ticking time bomb." She wasn't aware of when she had advanced on the man but now she was only a few feet away from him. "You don't have to have graduated early to know how dangerous it is to be playing around with a particle accelerator without the proper technology, knowledge or a fail safe." A thin eyebrow raised as a corner of her lips turned up. "Plus it really doesn't help to see replicas of my fiancé's inventions sitting around your lab."

She turned from him and saw Charles looking her way.

"I think I've got all I need. Thank you for your time." She slung her coat back over her shoulders and made her way out without a second glance back. She could hear Charles running to catch up with her but she did not stop until she was outside.

"Do you mind explaining just what that was all about? You're here to do a report on the man, not tear him apart, accuse him and question his intelligence!"

"I'm a reporter Charles; finding the truth and bringing it to light is what I do. If that means I have to actually tell the truth and not cover for somebody's lies, then so be it." She turned and continued down the sidewalk, desperate to get away from him. He caught up with her quickly and she slowed her pace. Charles cleared his throat then.

"My apologies; it would seem that you do things a bit differently than we do at the station here." He gave her what seemed like a legitimate apologetic look and Roxanne sighed.

"Then I'm sorry as well. It's just the thought of somebody trying to pass off something so dangerous! Not to mention claiming certain inventions are all of his own design when the same ones are sitting at home in my garage." She huffed and shook her head in aggravation before she let out one final long breath and calmed down. "Well… it's certainly been an exciting day." she let out a weak chuckle.

"Indeed it has. How about this; to make up for a waste of a report, let me take you out to dinner." He flashed another bright smile at her.

"Oh..uhm.. I kind of wanted to explore the city a bit. Get some shopping in, you know?" she had experience enough with turning down dinner offers from Hal to know how to talk her way out of something, but there was just something about Charles that told her he wouldn't give up. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Perfectly fine, you are in London after all. How about tomorrow night instead? There's a fantastic restaurant just down the street from the hotel."

"Charles…I-" she sighed.

"As colleagues, of course." He let out a polite laugh, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Really, I'm sure you've got plenty of wild stories from reporting back home. And while we may not have had any supers fighting in our city, I've got a few interesting stories to share. What do you say? Two colleagues sharing stories over dinner and wine?"

Roxanne sighed and nodded her head as she smiled politely to him. There was clearly no way she was going to get out of this without coming off as completely rude; and as little as she wanted to go she was still technically there for business and turning down a colleague might not be in her best interest.

"Sure, dinner tomorrow night then. Say seven?"

"I'll have a cab waiting for you right outside your hotel." He nodded to her before turning to walk the opposite way down the sidewalk. Roxanne did not miss the way that his eyes flashed over her body again and she turned, gritting her teeth as she crossed the street.

"And I'll have a de-gun hiding in my bag in case you try any funny business."

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Roxanne made her way down the sidewalks and towards the shopping area that the hotel receptionist had directed her to. She had left Pinky and the other brain bots back in her room at the hotel, telling them to take the day off but to behave. It was a risk, but she highly doubted that many stores would be so welcoming to a bunch of flying robots that had a tendency to chew on clothing. Roxanne stopped in front of a store window as a light blue dress caught her eye. It was lovely; a smooth light blue adorned with a wide dark blue belt of lace. She studied it for a minute before she reached into her purse and pulled out the sleek black card that Mykael had handed to her only days ago.

He  _did_  tell her to go shopping after all…and to enjoy herself. She smirked and made her way into the store.

" _Well…he did say to spare no expense."_

Roxanne searched through the various racks of clothing, picking out not only the light blue dress from the window, but several sweaters in varying colors and a white scarf that she thought would look stunning on Mykael. After a number of more stores for shoes, a new handbag and another dress, Roxanne began to wonder if maybe, as much as the retail therapy was helping, she was spending a little  _too_  freely with the gifted card. She stopped once more only to pick up a few gifts for everyone back home and she was set to head back to the hotel for a nice dinner and a phone call home when her eyes caught another store.

_What could it hurt?_

Roxanne walked into the shop and within five minutes the sales girl that approached her not only squealed at the sight of her engagement ring and called over her other three co-workers, but the girls soon had a fitting room full of different pieces for Roxanne to try on.

It was nearly an hour later when Roxanne walked out with a large bag full of an assortment of pieces that she was sure Mykael would adore, including a deep blue lacy number and a corset made of black leather. It had started to drizzle while she was shopping and she hitched her coat more tightly around her neck as she headed for her hotel.

As she walked through the city and looked around at the rainy sky and the dark buildings she felt homesick. She missed the white towers and the golden statue of the museum that shined as the sun hit it. She missed the buzzing of brain bots as they floated about, and the sound of rock music drifting out from behind a red curtain. But most of all she missed a certain blue man who held her heart so dearly.

To Hell with London.

She was heading home.

* * *

Roxanne sighed as she hung up her phone and stared at the screen. That was twice now that she had called home and hadn't gotten an answer. She knew that if something were terribly wrong she would have gotten a call from someone, but even that reassurance didn't help how lonely she felt.

_Just one more day…_

All she had to get through was the dinner she'd been pushed into and she was home free. She had cancelled her wake up call for the next morning and woke up after 9, something that she considered sleeping in. She was served another delicious breakfast; this time of oatmeal, fruits and yogurt. As she ate she worked over what was supposed to have been her report on Stuart. She knew that there was no way that his flop of a project would have ever gone anywhere unless he paid off the right people.

Throughout her illustrious career, and relationship with Megamind, Roxanne had made a number of different friends and colleagues from all walks of life. And so a few emails and telephone calls later, Roxanne had a new story fit for a Queen.

Stuart had been paying off several various officials and other less trustworthy members of society to pass over his project as an "energy source". In reality, this very same source was to be sold to an eastern country for weapons of war. By the time she finished the last sentence of her email to Richard, the law would be showing up at Stuart's front door.

Of course, as Roxanne knew, her dinner with Charles was inevitable. She sent one more text home to remind Mykael that she would be coming home the next day and resolved herself to getting ready. She refused to make it look as if she were trying to impress Charles in any way and dressed in a simple white ruffled blouse and a knee length black pencil skirt. She slipped into a pair of black heels just in time for the receptionist to call and inform her that her ride had arrived.

Roxanne stepped outside of her hotel and sighed as she took in the limousine that awaited her. She had been expecting a cab, or at least a town car; but certainly not a stretch limousine. But as unexpected as the limo had been, even more unexpected was Charles sitting in the backseat.

"Roxanne, good evening!"

"Hi…Charles." She attempted a polite smile as the limo pulled away from the curb.

"We received the news of your findings; shame about it all." He said, looking none too remorseful at all.

Throughout dinner Roxanne often found herself biting her tongue against retorts at many of Charles' comments. She began bragging as much as she could about Megamind and her career back home. But, once more, Charles directed the conversation back to his inappropriate compliments. Finally Roxanne feigned exhaustion and, stating that she needed to fly home tomorrow, suggested she head back to the hotel. They stood at the sidewalk, waiting for the limo to return when Charles turned to her, an odd smile upon his lips.

"You're truly impressive Roxanne. You're charming; you're beautiful, and brilliant. Why, just look at that quick investigative work that you did earlier!"

"It's really nothing compared to what I've done back home…" Roxanne tried to brush his comment off. Her patience and ability to be polite was wearing thin now.

"It was really quite fantastic Roxanne; you're really a very remarkable woman. We could use someone like you on our team."

"Excuse me?"

"We've already got a contract drawn up. We'd be willing to pay you twice what you're making back home. What do you say?"

"I'm engaged."

"I don't see how that's a problem." His lips turned up at one corner in a smirk as he reached out to place a hand on her side. Roxanne stepped back and glared at him.

"I need to be going now."

"Stay here in London…with me." And then he moved in, his lips overtaking hers. Roxanne's eyes opened wide and she pulled back from him, pushing him off of her as she went. She lashed her hand out and smacked him clean across the face. He slowly regained his composure, wiping the back of his hand against his newly split lip.

"Funny… I thought you were smart." He sneered at her.

"I am." Roxanne had already stormed off; she wouldn't waste another breath on him.

She stormed into her hotel room and slammed the door loudly behind her, not giving a damn to the hour or her neighbors.

"Pinky! Fang! Rally the troops and pack up… we're going home!" she stormed off to the bathroom and slammed that door as well. The collection of brain bots looked to one another; once more Mommy's rage had shown itself. With an annoyed bowg Pinky reached out and slapped Nibbler across the back of his dome, sending all the bots into action of packing up the room.

* * *

Roxanne scanned the crowd as she rode down the escalator; behind her the group of brain bots carried her luggage and the various equipment that had been brought along. She was glad that Minion had finally answered the phone and would be there to pick her up. It had taken a lot of finagling but she'd managed to get the earliest flight out of London and had left her hotel the moment the last suitcase had been locked. She spotted her piscine pal through the crowd and was twice as happy to see a large mug of coffee gripped in his metal hands.

"Hello Miss Ritchi! It's so good to have you home."

"Believe me Minion; it's good to be home." She sighed. She gladly took the cup of coffee from Minion and hugged him before turning to the brain bots and waving for them to follow her.

As Minion directed the Hudson down the streets Roxanne noticed a few improvements to the city; large clear screens replaced where the older models had once been, and on top of some of the larger buildings she noticed the panels that she knew to be the solar panels Mykael had invented.

"Not the only changes that the boss made around here." Minion said as he noticed Roxanne's observations. As he pulled into the garage Roxanne instantly noticed the first change. Where there had once been an opening from the garage into the workshop was now a glass wall and door. Minion pressed a series of numbers on the lit panel and the door swung open.

"What?" Roxanne looked back at the wall in awe.

"Just a new security feature…" the fish shrugged. Roxanne followed along through the workshop. Once they got upstairs Roxanne noticed a yet another large screen. It was, if possible, larger than the previous collection of observation screens had been. Instead of the many separate screens, there was now one large projection; there were six separate views of the city, and Roxanne was sure that more would appear if necessary. It looked like the entire lair had been cleaned and organized, and from her viewpoint it looked like a series of new computers had been built, much in the same fashion as the new screens. Where there had once been a messy workbench, now stood a gleaming metal table with a shining top. If Roxanne stood close enough she would see that the entire surface was covered in a unique touch screen of dials and buttons.

"Roxanne! You're home!" Mykael rushed forward and swooped her up in a hug; clinging to her tightly. She wrapped her own arms around him as she buried her face into his neck. She felt the distinct scratch of facial hair against her face and when she pulled back she was surprised to see stubble along his normally smooth face. She smirked and ran a thumb along his cheek.

"Oh yes, that." He chuckled sheepishly as he placed her feet back to the floor, keeping his arms around her. "I'm afraid I've been rather busy lately."

"He couldn't sleep." Minion muttered.

"Really? I couldn't tell." She teased. He took her hand and gently pulled her to lead her through the lair.

"Oh you should see it Roxanne! It all started with an idea for a screen for the tower! And then it moved to a new security system, and then new computer!"

"I was barely gone a week…" she said with a laugh.

"And don't forget the improvements you made on the hover bike sir!"

"Yes yes, that too!"

"Woah woah… hang on!" Roxanne laughed. "Go back; security system?"

"We needed something a little new…we had a slight break-in."

"A break-in?" Roxanne couldn't deny the prickle of fear that she felt.

"Oh nothing to worry about at all…it was just an overzealous fan. But it got me to thinking; we were always lax about security because everyone was always too afraid to find us. But now that I'm good there's no reason for people to stay away." He reasoned. Roxanne had to agree with him. Mykael moved in and wrapped a lithe arm around her waist before he placed a kiss on her temple.

"But enough about that, I want to hear all about your trip! Minion can make lunch and you can tell us all about it."

"Oh…no, you don't want to hear about that. It was just all work business."

"Tish tosh!" He waved his free gloved hand. "You went away, and we all missed you, and now we want to hear all about your time there!"

"Can't I just give you your gifts?" she smirked.

"You brought presents!" he got so excited that for a moment Roxanne thought that perhaps she would not have to talk about the whole issue with Charles. But knowing that he couldn't lie to her blue beau, and knowing that his considerable mind would not forget; she knew that the truth would have to come out either way.

 


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Mykael wanted Roxanne to cover nearly every detail of her trip; he'd apologized multiple times for missing her phone calls when he had been otherwise preoccupied with inventing and hero business. Nothing else had gone too terribly wrong in the city while she was away, just the normal patrols and an attempt at a convenience store robbery. But no matter how much she tried, she knew that she couldn't forever avoid the altercation she'd had with Charles. Mykael grew ever more on edge as she spoke about Charles' comments and how he had practically harassed Roxanne into dinner. Feeling the tension rolling off of his friend, Minion politely excused himself from the room and hurried out.

"He was trying to get me to stay in London…to work there. I turned him down flat of course. But he was so insistent. I was ready to just walk back to the hotel." She looked over to Mykael to see that his hand had formed a fist on the table.

"And then he kissed me." she added quickly, biting her lip.

"He what?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"He completely forced on one me! He grabbed me right there in the street and practically smashed his mouth against mine!"

"I'll kill him!" Mykael stood up, his eyes alight with rage."You there!" he pointed to the first passing brainbot that he saw and his shout stopped it in its tracks. It looked at a very angry Daddy, frightened for what his command would be. "Grab my things! The cape with the highest collar! And make sure the mega-de-gun is charged! And bring me my angry boots!"

"Woah! Wait a second!" Roxanne called out, trying to calm her angry fiancé.

"Don't try and stop me Roxanne, I've made up my mind! I'm going to London." 

"Well I don't think that's entirely necessary." She said calmly. He turned around to face her again, his face a mix of shock and confusion.

"Not nece- _not necessary?!_  Roxanne my love, this man violated you! He-"

"I know…and that's why I punched him." She smirked impishly.

"You…you punched him?" he stared at her a moment longer, taking in her smile, before letting out a whoop of laughter. He swooped in to pick her up and he hugged her closely. "You punched him! Oh you glorious woman you! My little firebrand! I love you!" he laughed, stopping only to kiss her deeply. He pulled back from the kiss, a chuckle rumbling in his chest.

"It looks like those old lessons you gave me really paid off." Roxanne shrugged. This brought another loud laugh from him and he gave her an affectionate chuck on the chin.

"I'm rubbing off on you. If anything I'm surprised that you didn't turn your de-gun on him."

"Don't think that I didn't consider it; he certainly deserved it. The pig."

Roxanne was about to suggest that they go to the movie room, when the ringing of a telephone cut through the air. Minion hurried back into the room and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, city hero." He greeted. Roxanne glanced to her fiancé who smirked, rolling his eyes.

"He's been working on a telephone greeting for the business phone." No one was extremely pleased with the idea of the business phone, but Minion and the Mayor had both insisted on it; that it made the most sense in the case of an absolute emergency.

"No, Miss Ritchi already has a coordinator and will not be requiring your services. Thank you." He hung up. "As I've already told you five times." He added tersely.

"Who on earth was that?" Roxanne asked.

"Another leech." Minion grumbled. "They've been relentless. Emailing and calling nonstop; offering cakes and wedding planning. All to get their name on the map; I mean who wouldn't want to be involved in one of the most important events of the city. And they're using the emergency phone to get to us now too!" Minion grumbled.

The brunette couldn't help but giggle at how strongly Minion obviously felt about it all.

"Well if it helps at all, I wouldn't have anybody but you in charge of this wedding." She smiled to him. His tense fins relaxed and a small smile crossed his face. His brown eyes shifted to the clock and Roxanne caught the shift in his expression that he quickly tried to cover up by smiling again.

"Well, it is getting late. I should be going to bed...yup that's just what I'll do! Good night!" he hurried off to his room, leaving a baffled Roxanne looking at his retreating back. Mykael chuckled and she turned her gaze to him, her expression asking the question for her.

"Oh yes, and then there's that. It seems that while you were away, Reena started emailing and calling our dear Minion. It started with a simple baking question, which moved to a wedding question, and now it seems like the two have been conversing rather regularly. Although I get the feeling it's more of Reena doing the talking and Minion gaping like...well, a fish!" he laughed. Roxanne joined in with his laughter until a large yawn broke through.

"Okay, it's off to bed with you, my dear!"He swooped in, picking her up and cradled her all the way to their room.

"But it's still early! And I've only just gotten back home!" Roxanne laughed out, kicking her feet playfully.

"And that means that we have all sorts of time to spend together, but for now; bed." He dropped her onto the mattress and she gave him a good-humored glare.

"Can I at least change for bed first?"

"Oh…" he blinked for a moment, as if he had forgotten the detail of sleeping clothes. He smiled sheepishly and sat down on the bed, waiting for her to return. Roxanne stood in the bathroom, looking through the bag that Pinky had deposited in there. It was as if the brilliant little robot had known her intentions. But now that she looked at the new things she had bought she realized just how tired she really was. She instead chose the simplest one; a short nightie of dark blue with black lace and straps. She exited the bathroom with a shy little smirk and watched as his eyes followed her.

"Well, that…is that new?" he cleared his throat, trying to hide that his voice had cracked. She giggled and lay down next to him.

"Oh, this? Just a little something I picked up…"

"Well, it's very lovely." He leaned in, tracing his thumb along her jaw before softly kissing her. She turned her head to a more comfortable angle, and that was when the alarm sounded.

Even after being gone for only a week it seemed louder. He sighed as he pulled back from her just enough to speak, his lips brushing against hers.

"I'm sure it's nothing the police can't handle…" he moved in to kiss her again.

"Sir?"

"Go and check." Roxanne murmured against her love's lips. He sighed and rose from the bed. Roxanne slipped into her bathrobe before following along behind him. Minion was already at the screen.

"Bank robbery…should we leave this one to the police, Sir?"

"Oh, I don't see why not, they've been doing a fine job lately." He spoke too soon as a quick series of short beeps sounded and a new message appeared on the transparent screen. "I stand corrected. Seems we've got a hostage situation, Minion." He turned and looked to Roxanne; he seemed so unsure if he should stay or go, or if she'd be mad if he left.

"Go on." She smirked. "Go get 'em."

True to his nature he leaned in and kissed her forehead before rushing for the car with Minion with a trail of brain bots in their wake. Roxanne chuckled as she shook her head and looked at the screen once more.

* * *

Roxanne rolled over in bed again, unable to fall asleep. The boys had been gone for over three hours now. She expected such a delicate situation to take some time, but now she was beginning to get worried. Pinky nudged against her arm and Roxanne sighed, sitting up.

"Sorry… I'm just worried. Why don't we go turn on the television?" The wall across from the bed suddenly sprang to life and Roxanne jumped out of her skin. She hadn't noticed it there before, but clearly their room had also been updated. From the ceiling dropped a screen and it stretched out before lighting up. "Wow…not a bad idea." She mused. She felt something drop into her lap and looked down to see a remote; Pinky had placed it there and now sat proudly on the mattress next to her. Roxanne flipped to channel 8.

The entire area had been taped off and even more barricades had been set up to keep onlookers back from the danger. Roxanne could see various brain bots floating around in the background.

* * *

When Megamind arrived on the scene he was instantly ushered over to the three officers that he had typically been working with since his posting as hero.

"What've we got?"

"Three hostages: all employees of the bank. They were leaving late from a board meeting when the suspect burst in." Officer Dawn Hannon said.

"Has he made any demands?"

"Just one; that nobody goes inside; he says he's got the place wired to blow if any of the doors are opened."

* * *

Roxanne wrung her hands as she stared at the television screen. There was a part of her that wished that she could be the one out there, close to the action, instead of waiting nervously at home.

"…authorities have made contact with the suspect. His only demands thus far have been that no one enters the building-" There was a loud explosion and Roxanne could hear the screams from all those who were watching onsite. A cop cruiser ripped through the barricades and sped down the street; and Roxanne's guess that it had been stolen was confirmed as soon as the Hudson sped by on screen after it.

"Minion, this is highly dangerous! We need to stop him before somebody gets hurt!"

"The police are working on setting up a road block Sir."

Without warning the police cruiser turned sharply, taking another street. Megamind was quick to act; he took a different street, planning to cut him off. The cruiser brushed by him with just inches to spare and he hit the steering wheel in frustration.

And then the man in front of him stomped on the brakes and swerved in attempt to miss the barricade in front of him. His wheels lost traction on the slippery roads and the cruiser spun. The tires nipped the curb just enough to send the car tumbling over before it landed on its roof. Megamind stopped the Hudson and jumped out, hurrying to the overturned car. He could hear the man groaning inside. He dropped down and reached in, pulling the man out before he stood up to his full height and glared down at him.

"Please! Please! I'm sorry!" the man begged. There was a large bruise already forming on his forehead, and a series of cuts and nicks dotted his face.

"Sorry? You take innocent people hostage, steal a police cruiser to take a wild ride through the city, endangering everybody on the streets, and you're  _sorry?"_ Megamind spat in frustration.

"Please…I had no choice… I needed money." His instant begging for mercy confused Megamind.

The caped hero bent down again, intent on handcuffing the man and bringing him to his feet. A trio of officers ran up to join him.

"Want us to take him from here?"

* * *

Megamind had been unable to get the man's pleading out of his mind; he needed to know  _why._  He followed the officers to the jail. After the man's wounds had been cleaned and treated he was seated in the interrogation room. David had been shocked when Megamind requested to be let in.

"You've got fifteen minutes."

Megamind nodded and walked into the room. He slowly approached the table, his eyes looking over the man in front of him. He was clearly tired, but there was something else there too; more than just physical exhaustion; this man was mentally and emotionally drained. And there was something else as well; fear.

"You've caused a lot of trouble for my city tonight." Megamind kept his voice level as he slowly sat down at the other end of the table.

"I know…I know…it was a mistake. I never meant for it to go like this."

"I've seen your record; you haven't had anything more than a parking ticket in the past six years. So…why?" Megamind kept his voice calm and level.

"Because I needed to!" he exploded. "Because…I needed to." His voice softened as his gaze dropped down to the table. "Haven't you ever had something…anything…that you cared about more than anything else?"

Their eyes met for a moment and they shared an understanding. After a moment the hero sighed.

"There still is no reason to commit a crime. I'm sorry but; it's out of my hands." He made to stand when the man reached out his handcuffed hands.

"Please, no! I'm sorry. It's my wife; she needs help." The man was practically crying now. "Please…she's all I have in this world. And she's sick; she's  _dying_.. I've been out of work…and I c-I couldn't afford the treatment she needs. The doctors won't help us unless we have the money, and now the bank has been calling for payments on the loan I took out...You have to understand; I needed to do  _something_! I can't lose her!"

Megamind remained silent, studying the man before him. Slowly he stood up and turned to walk out. He paused at the door and turned to look back at the man before him. His brilliant mind processed over different possibilities of how he could help. He couldn't do too much, that much he knew. But, he also knew that he had to do something. He sighed and left the room, leaving the man alone. As he made to leave the prison David stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, son?"

"People don't always realize how hard it is to decide between what is right and wrong…or how desperation can lead a man down the wrong path. …There has to be something that I can do to help."

"He's a criminal; you know how the system works."

"Yes, but you heard him. You heard his trouble. I need to do something… _anything._ "

This was a side of Mykael that the Warden knew well; that determined side that wouldn't give up until he found a solution. He couldn't hold back the smirk that turned up the corner of his lips.

"Go home and get some rest first; you've had a long night."

Mykael nodded, his mind elsewhere, as he bid David goodnight and headed for home.

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

**Chapter 6**

* * *

In the weeks that followed her homecoming, Roxanne often found herself marveling at the fact of how happy she was with where her life had led her.

A man who loved her more than his own life, who she in return loved with a matching intensity.

Friends who stuck by her through thick and thin.

A rewarding job that she woke up excited to go to.

And while not as predictable as it had once been, there were still factors that she could rely on in her life; weekly pizza and movies with Wayne, the café with Reena, Minion's delicious cooking, and Mykael's humor and infectious smile. Being kidnapped had been replaced with countless hours of enjoying one another's company, battles of good vs evil had been replaced by game nights and stories of the "good ol' days".

Five years ago if someone had told Roxanne that she would be planning to marry the blue skinned alien, she would have laughed; now she couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Megamind's workload had increased as of late; it seemed like everyone in the city needed help with something. While Roxanne covered a good amount of his stories of rescue and assistance over the news, she couldn't be there every moment. There were some nights of the week where Roxanne would stay in, relaxing and staying warm from the bitter Michigan winter. It was a Friday, and that meant movies and pizza with Wayne; it had been far too long since they had last been able to spend time together and Roxanne missed her dear friend. They had rented an old early 90's movie and had the extra pleasure of Minion making them a pizza instead of ordering out was as per usual for the pair. When Wayne arrived he looked to Roxanne with a curious expression.

"Where's everybody else?" It was definitely more quiet than usual in the Lair, and his super-hearing and sight picked up neither fish nor alien man.

"Out." Roxanne smirked. "Mykael's on patrol and Minion is actually at a cooking class; a local school asked him to come by and give a lesson." Roxanne's smile showed just how happy she was for her fishy friend. Wayne smirked in return.

"Wow; Fins teaching…well. Good for him!"

* * *

They were barely half-way through the movie when Wayne sighed and glanced to Roxanne.

"So…how's ol' Blue been doing?" he asked cautiously. Roxanne had voiced her concern to him only a week ago when they had spoken over the phone. Ever since he had come across that man from the bank he'd been busy trying to find a way to help him. From there his mind had also expanded to how he could help the less fortunate in the city and had since been consumed in his work.

"He's still the same. He's trying to find some way to help that family, but he's worrying too that by helping this man that people will look on him badly. He'd be 'helping the criminal'; his words, not mine." A troubled expression washed over her face. "He wants to help this family so badly, but he's afraid that if he did the city will turn on him and that it will send the wrong message to the 'bad guys'."

Wayne sat in contemplation for a moment, his fingers stroking his chiseled chin.

"Well I can see his dilemma. Either option comes away with guilt. It's the price a hero pays really; who really needs the help and what risks are the right ones to take. _But_ …what if there were to be an anonymous donor?"

"He's afraid somehow it would be traced back to him. I've suggested it already."

"Well now I didn't say  _him_." Wayne said. Roxanne turned a shocked gaze to her friend. He shrugged. "I've got a lot to make up for myself. Not just to him but to this city too."

"Well it's definitely something to consider." She sat back for a moment, contemplating over her drink. "Ya know; it's actually a  _very_  good idea. The story has had more than enough media coverage; we could say that 'an anonymous generous donor saw the story and, whether or not the man went to jail, knew that the world wouldn't be right until his wife received the treatment that she needed.' Hmm…that's actually  _very_  good." Roxanne chuckled to herself. By the expression on her face Wayne knew that she was already writing the script in her mind.

"I never understood how you were able to do that; but it sure is a gift Roxie." He laughed.

"I am fantastic, aren't I?" she teased. "Now, whether we tell Mykael that the donor is actually you is entirely up to you. But, it really is a very good idea… and a very charitable one too." She reached over and patted her friend's hand. He returned her gaze a moment, and a strange contemplation flickered behind his eyes. His lips twitched up in a smirk and he leaned back against the couch, folding his arms behind his head before he nudged her with his elbow.

"I am fantastic, aren't I?"

* * *

"It's a true miracle Metro City! This past weekend an anonymous donation was sent to Metro City Hospital in the name of Mrs. Helen Rogers. The donation came along with a letter. The donator writes: "While the question of Daniel Rogers' possible guilt is still under scrutiny, there is no question of the need for a helping hand to be lent out to the family. The Rogers' couple has become yet another victim of circumstance and whether or not her husband is guilty the world won't be right again until Mrs. Rogers receives the proper medical care that she needs." The donor has wished to remain anonymous. No word has been said on just how the money was delivered but city officials have confirmed it has been an entirely legitimate transaction. Mrs. Rogers will begin treatment later this week and both she and her husband gratefully thank who they now call their guardian angel. This is Roxanne Ritchi for KCMP news 8."

Roxanne's report had played at every news block for the next three days after the original live broadcast. Everyone had been clamoring to know just who this anonymous donor had been. Megamind himself gave an official statement that "heroes can come from unexpected places, and you don't have to stop a bank robbery or pull somebody out of a burning building to make a difference in someone's life." He voiced his gratitude to the anonymous donor, stating once more for the crowd that he was just as in the dark as the rest of them as to who the person was.

His high spirits at the good fortune had been so that he practically skipped into the Lair one afternoon and invited his lovely bride-to-be out to a real dinner. They had opted to wait until the original clamor calmed down so as to lessen their chances of being mobbed for answers while on their date. And so it was a week later that the happy couple left the Lair, dressed in some of their finest, and drove off for what Mykael had promised would be a splendid evening. As they pulled up to the building Roxanne glanced to the gleaming building outside and then to her fiancé.

"We're eating _here_?"

"Well yes...If you're okay with it of course!" he clarified "We can always go anywhere else that you want. I just thought that since our first dinner here got cut short we might try again…but no. It was a stupid idea…" he moved to turn the car back on and Roxanne reached out, placing her hand over his.

"I think it's a good idea." She smiled. "Let's go inside."

* * *

Inside lasted for all of fifteen minutes. They had been seated in a private corner booth, per Megamind's personal request, before word that the hero and reporter couple were present. They were instantly mobbed with a barrage of questions about the wedding, about the mysterious donor, about Megamind's plans for the city. A kindly waiter ducked in under the crowd and pulled the distressed couple free from the crowd and out into the lobby. The couple was given several apologies and an offer of a free private dinner, but they politely declined and hurried out before anyone could follow them.

As they got out of the car in their garage the couple was immediately swarmed by a horde of ever excited brain bots. Mykael sighed in annoyance as he shrugged off his coat and tossed it over one of the bots.

" _That_  was a disaster."

"Sir! Miss Ritchi! What are you doing back so soon?" Minion chanced a glance back over his shoulder as he approached his friends, his metal hands wringing in front of him.

"We were mobbed is what! I tell you Minion, no one has any respect for personal boundaries! What I wouldn't give for the days when they went running in the other direction!" the blue man stormed past his friend and headed upstairs, grumbling the whole way. As Roxanne came to the top of the stairs she bumped right into Mykael as he came to a quick stop. She peered past his shoulder to see the surprised and almost guilty looking face of-

"Reena? What are you doing here?" Roxanne asked curiously. She had no qualms against her friend for being in her home, it was more-so the fact that Reena was there while she was not.

"Well we  _were_  trying to get some of the wedding planning underway. But then we saw you were pulling in and had to scramble to put it all away again."

"Why all the secrecy?" asked Mykael.

"Well you can't very well see the dress!" Reena retorted. A bewildered expression crossed the hero's face and he glanced from Reena and Minion, to his fiancé, and back again to the snappish blonde in front of him before he shrugged.

"Well alright then."

The room fell silent at Mykael's lack of comeback. Minion could see the tension in his friend's stance; he had been so eager for this dinner with Roxanne and his dismay at it being ruined was showing.

"I'll just…put on some tea. Cocoa for you Sir?" Minion shuffled out of the room, not waiting for the nod that would assuredly come from his friend. Roxanne moved to one of the computers and sat down into the chair, typing in her entry code.

"So you were really mobbed?"

"It was ridiculous Reena. I swear we were lucky to make it out of there with the clothes off our backs." She shook her head in disgust and turned her head back to the screen in front of her. Her fingers were clumsier than usual against the new flat keyboard her genius fiancé had built. Reena watched in silent observation as Roxanne brought up the blueprint of the disguise watch on one screen and the programming on the screen next to it.

"Playing with programming Roxie? Not exactly your normal hobby." Reena turned her gaze to Minion as he handed her a mug of steaming tea. She offered him a shy smile and he smiled back for all of a second before feeling what would have been a blush as he turned to place a mug on the workstation for Roxanne. Mykael slumped down into the seat next to hers, sulking over his mug of cocoa.

"I had this idea a while ago Reena…I think it's time I finally do something with it."

"Care to share in this master plan of yours?"

"Well, right now the watch is only programmed to portray images of those who have been physically scanned into the watch. Now that, while a brilliant idea, can be potentially problematic." Next to her Mykael chuckled in appreciation and amusement.

"Okay genius, keep going." Reena teased her. She had known Roxanne long enough to see this side of her; the side where she got so wrapped up in her plans and ideas that she talked like the brilliant bookworm that she was.

"Well, think about it. You're out in the city, wearing someone else's face, and you run into their neighbor, or a cousin...they'd surely pick up that you weren't who they thought you were. _Or_ if you were to run into that very person? They'd think they'd gone crazy! So, what I've been thinking is; find a way to reprogram the watch, and load in different features from people we see or in pictures and form all of those features into a whole new person. We get a sense of anonymity when we need to go out and we don't have to wear someone else's face."

"It's a good idea Roxie…but don't you want to go out in your own face?"

"You _know_ I do Reena. I'd love to be able to go out to dinner with my fiancé without being mobbed by a bunch of crazed fan girls." Roxanne sighed.

Reena stared at her friend for a moment, tilting her head to the side in consideration. Suddenly she let out a laugh and shook her head.

"Careful there Roxie…your little green monster is about to get the best of you."

"What?" Mykael asked, completely confused.

"Roxie's jealous! She's getting her feathers all ruffled because of other girls looking at you!" the blonde laughed. Roxanne's face turned a light pink; there was no talking herself out of this one.

* * *

 


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

**Chapter7**

* * *

There were very few times in which the Lair was actually quiet during waking hours. There was the normal ticking and whirring of computers and the brain bots, but other than that the Lair was quiet; save of course for the occasional sigh of thought or frustration.

Mykael had taken up residence in his favorite executive chair, responding to what felt like email after email and non-stop phone calls all in response to a press conference he had held just days ago. He had been willing to let the dinner fiasco go, but the intrusions had grown worse. First he was mobbed getting out of his car while entering City Hall. Three hours later he was called away from lunch with the Warden for what he thought was an emergency but turned out to be nothing more than a young woman with a broken down car who had used the excuse to call Megamind. Then poor Minion was bowled over while shopping in the grocery store. But they all had the final straw when Mykael found a strange young man circling his car, after having walked into it, and had begun an attempt to climb inside and follow the hero home.

Megamind informed his good city that while he appreciated their reverence and while he was delighted that they are all so eager to see him and greet him, there were times when he required his privacy and that it had been grossly invaded.

"There are certain times when a hero must hang up his cape for the night and simply be a citizen; to eat dinner with his family, in privacy, without the prying eyes of cameras. True it is my job to be there for our fair city, for all of you, to protect and serve; but that does not mean we can abuse that. I cannot be pulled from my dinners and my own personal down time for matters that our own police, fire and rescue are more than capable enough to handle. Nor should I have to be concerned about being mobbed while doing as simple a task as picking up the dry cleaning."  _Okay that was a bit of a stretch, they rarely if ever actually dropped off dry cleaning, but the point got across all the same._ "And so I ask you, dear citizens of Metrocity, to come to an understanding and an agreement, for privacy and personal security, while I continue to serve our city."

That had been three days ago and he was once more stuck answering questions about the invasions of privacy and what tasks he would deem enough of an emergency to call him directly. He assured many people over and over again that his many brain bots stationed throughout the city would alert him directly to every danger that may need his attention.

Roxanne had holed herself up in her corner of the lab, bent over a keyboard. This was not an abnormal position in which to find the reporter, but it was the work she had buried herself in that differed. As the need for privacy grew and the respect for personal space lessened Roxanne grew ever more determined to finish her plans for their disguise generators. However, if Roxanne had to be completely honest she also had other motives other than privacy for her desire to have disguises.

Her aggravated sigh broke through the quiet and Mykael looked over in concern before he kicked off the ground and wheeled his chair in her direction.

"Is my damsel in distress?" he joked, waggling his eyebrows. She glanced to him and her lips cracked into a smile before her chuckle broke through.

"Oh I'm just getting frustrated. I keep thinking that I am so close and then something else goes wrong."

"I seem to remember you once telling me that if something got frustrating I needed to step away from it. So..." he leaned down, placing his lips against the skin of her neck. "Why don't we  _step away_  for a bit? Say oh…I don't know, an hour maybe? Maybe longer if we are feeling particularly  _frustrated."_

From his seat over on the couch Minion glanced over at his friends and their flirtatious ventures, and was both surprised and admittedly saddened when a particular blonde headed figure popped into his mind. He had been thinking recently of how much he had come to care for Reena, but always knew that nothing could come of it. They could talk and laugh, and he could smile over the way her eyes lit up when she became excited over something, or was feeling particularly mischievous and teasing him or making fun of their friends. But he knew, deep down, that there could never be more than that. He could never hold her without fear of crushing her. He could never feel the warmth of her skin against him. And kissing? Well it wasn't something the fish had ever considered before, not that he had ever had a reason to anyway, but now? Now that there was this beautiful woman he adored who sought out his company? He shook his head sadly, it was a thought that he would have to put away and forget about. How could he ever ask her to accept him anyway? She was a human, and he was…well he was an alien fish with a bulking robotic body.

Minion was brought from his thoughts as his attention was diverted by the warning bells. He rose and headed to the monitors, frowning slightly at what he saw there.

"Sir? You might want to take a look at this…" he looked over to find one blue headed alien canoodling with a certain brunette reporter and sighed. He cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. " _Sir_ , the brain bots are picking up some rather suspicious activity on the Metro Bridge."

Megamind slowly rose from where he had been leaning onto the chair, and after giving Roxanne a playful poke on her nose, walked to the monitors to look into the situation.

"They've been following a rather suspicious character for a few hours now."

"Hmm…can we get a closer image?" the hero inquired, hitting a few buttons on the keyboard. In seconds they had a closer image of the man. He was tall, with dark brown hair and large biceps and a beer gut to match. He was clothed in dark blue coveralls and wore a standard yellow construction hat.

"He's just a worker, probably checking up on the work being done. Don't you remember Minion? We had concerns about the bridge's lack of maintenance, and the mayor wanted to tie the lights into the power source? I'm sure that's all it is."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Sir…brain bot surveillance says he's been acting oddly." Said Minion.

"Acting oddly how?" Mykael nearly huffed, clearly aggravated at having been torn away from his lady love at what appeared to be a mere suspicion. He looked back to the screen again, watching the earlier footage on one box and the current on another. "Hold on a second…" he zoomed in closer and went rigid. "No…"

"What's wrong?" Roxanne had made her way over and leaned in next to him to look at the screen.

"The Destruction Worker."

"I'm sorry…who?" Roxanne questioned.

"Minion, I want all civilians off of that bridge; send out all brain bots active and reserve if you have to."

"On it!" Minion rushed off to the control panel for the bots.

"Woah now… _what_ is going on? Who is this guy?" Roxanne grasped Mykael's shoulder before he could run off. He spun around to look at her.

"He's a member of the Doom Syndicate. Last I knew he had been in a high security prison, but it looks like he got out. He's dangerous Roxanne…" he stared into her blue eyes, and she could see all his worry and concern there. Without missing a beat she nodded her head.

"Well alright then, go do what you do best."

As he ran for his motorbike Roxanne headed for her desk to grab her phone.

"I'll call the station and alert them to what's going on, if they can get the word out maybe we can get a detour started. I'll head out soon to start filming."

"Roxanne, I don't want you anywhere near him."

"Well you can't expect me to sit here wondering if you're okay or not." She argued. Megamind looked to her, reading that determined expression on her face.

"I don't want you in that kind of danger." He said sternly. After a silent moment of locked stares he sighed. "I'll have a roadblock set up a mile out, would you report from there?"

"Yes; but if I hear that anything's happened to you I won't hesitate running through that roadblock."

* * *

Megamind had called into the police station, requesting extra backup in rerouting any and all traffic and clearing the bridge of the current traffic it held. As he hovered his bike over the bridge he saw The Deconstruction Worker walking along the footpath, holding a strange remote in his hand.

"Look who made it out of the pound." Megamind called out. The Deconstruction Worker whirled around at the unsuspected voice and his gaze quickly landed on Megamind."

"Heh! Well well look who it is! Old Blue. Word on the street is you've made a hero out of yourself."

"Well you know what they say; good news travels fast." He touched ground and swung off of his bike, striding towards The Deconstruction Worker.

"Still too good for our side, eh?" the villain asked.

"I was always too good for your side…now what are you doing here?"

"Can't a fella visit a new city every now and then?"

" _You're_  supposed to be in jail."

"So they let me out on plea bargain. I busted out and they were pleading with me to not kill them all." The Deconstruction Worker laughed gruffly. As always Megamind's brain was working in many directions at once, and he had already seen the remote in the man's hand and guessed on what he was about to do. "So I decided to visit the big city, to have a little  _fun."_

"The rest of your nutcase posse didn't make it out? Or did they just abandon you?" Mykael challenged. To the last of his knowledge much of the Doom Syndicate had been locked up; The Deconstruction Worker and Psycho Delic had been locked up in the highest security prison in D.C., while Lady Doppler and Hot Flash had been locked up in the Metro City Prison in their high end villain wing.

"Wouldn't you just love to find out?"

Megamind gave a rather dramatic yawn just then before glancing to his wrist.

"Yes well now that we've gotten your boring empty threats out of the way, what say we just wrap this up already and get you back behind bars?"

"Who says they're empty threats?" The Deconstruction Worler raised the remote in his hand and Megamind internally cursed himself for getting caught up in the banter. Quick as a whip he pulled his de-gun from its holster and aimed it at the man.

"Don't do anything you'll regret." Megamind warned.

"Who says I'm gonna regret this?"

"You're only going to make this harder for yourself." The blue hero pressed. His eyes focused just over the shoulder of his adversary, watching as the brain bots on duty and the police who had come to assist ushered the citizens off of the bridge.

"It's all been pretty easy so far." He then turned around and his face dropped at the now empty bridge and the gathering of police cars. "What the!?" In his momentary distraction Megamind shot for the remote, dehydrating it into a small blue cube that clattered to the ground. A trio of brain bots hurried behind The Deconstruction Worker, yanking his arms tightly behind him. He growled as he looked to Megamind.

"It's not just me you know, I'm just the first. People like you can't be a hero. The world wasn't meant to be saved! "

"People like me? And just what is that supposed to mean? Good people? Or people who used to do bad? Either way that would still make me good. And good will always win."

"Believe what you want to believe blue man, there's an evil like you aint never seen, and it's coming your way." He said to Megamind. The hero stared at him, frowning.

"Empty threats won't work on me." He said. The Deconstruction Worker began laughing maniacally.

"Oh it's no empty threat! It's a bonafide guarantee! You just wait and see Megamind! There's more of us! And we're coming!" his laughter continued as he struggled against the brain bots and the pair of handcuffs that a nearby officer had slapped around his wrists.

"Take him the prison." Megamind commanded.

Early the next morning word had come in that the newest prisoner had been found dead in his cell. Megamind had remained troubled for days before he let it go and he made a decision to keep an eye out for any further action from the Doom Syndicate.

* * *

Roxanne pulled into her normal spot in the garage and was greeted by the sounds of rock music and power tools. The reporter made her way to her fiance's work area and called through the curtain, as per protocol. After a short wait the curtain was pushed aside and he swept her into his arms, wheeling them both across the floor in his chair. He hugged her tightly as he buried his face into her neck.

"Oh Roxanne you're back! You were late and I was so worried that you were never never never coming back! But you  _are_ back! And I'm so happy!" he pulled away a bit, taking in her face. "And you've had your hair done! You look beautiful!" It was true, Roxanne had indeed had her hair done; which was why she had come home from work two hours later than normal. Her growing locks had been cut into short layers and she had added caramel highlights. The brunette chuckled at her lover's affections.

"Woah there space ranger, how many cups of coffee have you had?"

"Oh just a few, two or three, maybe five, pots that is, but who's counting really? I'm just so happy you're home!" and with that he hugged her close again and spun their chair round in circles.

"Oh just forget it! I don't even know why I bothered trying!" Reena's yelling echoed through the cavernous room and was followed by the slamming of the door. Her heels clacked angrily over the cement floor as she crossed the room, passing the couple on her way.

"Reena?" Roxanne questioned wearily; she could practically feel the angry waves rolling off of Reena.

"Not now Roxie! I'm not in the mood." The blonde said as she continued to walk by and stormed out through the holographic wall.

"Reena! Hold on!" Roxanne hurried after her friend, intent on catching her and finding out what was going on.

Mykael's gaze drifted up the stairs towards the door. He rose from his seat and made his way upstairs. He found Minion in the kitchen chopping up carrots in a rather violent manner as he muttered angrily under his breath.

"I think that's enough carrots." Mykael said calmly, indicating the very large pile of carrots on the counter. His friendly warning went unanswered however, and Minion only went on to mutter under his breath. He placed the cutting board of carrots aside with a loud bang before placing down a pot in a similar manner. He grabbed the chicken from the fridge and threw it onto another cutting board before he began his attack on it.

"Minion?" he slowly approached his friend, taking care to watch the knife. "Minion? Are you alright?" he moved to place his hand on Minion's large arm when the fish slammed his hands onto the counter.

"Sorry Sir, what?" he spun around, clearly trying to cover up the fact he had been stuck in a personal tirade.

"Everything alright old friend?"

"Everything is fine." Minion replied tersely. Megamind shifted his stance back and crossed his arms as he looked his friend up and down an huffed; completely unconvinced.

"Doesn't seem so fine."

"It's nothing at all."

"Oh come off it! I'm not an idiot. First Reena storms out of here, and then I find you butchering dinner! What happened?"

"Nothing at all Sir; just a slight miscommunication. Everything is fine." Minion turned around, moving to get back to dinner. His hands slammed down onto the counter and he spun back around to face his friend. "Oh it's absolutely absurd! Here we are just having a polite conversation and next thing I know she's asking me out to dinner."

"Well…I don't really see the problem with that. Reena is a lovely girl." Mykael said, truly confused to what had upset his friend so.

"Sir! It's ridiculous! I can't go out to dinner with her! I'm…I'm this! And she's.." Minion flailed his hands gesturing to himself and in the air. "Honestly, the press was bad enough once, I can just imagine the field day they would have if they saw us out to dinner."

"The press? This is about not wanting to show up in a tabloid? Oh Minion…"

"Sir it's more than just that. I'm…well I'm  _me_. She can't honestly want to be seen with me in public. No; no, she was just being nice."

"Is that really what you think?" the voice came from the kitchen door and two pairs of eyes turned to find Reena standing there, a hurt expression in her brown eyes. She slowly stepped into the room with Roxanne following just behind her.

"Reena.." Minion stammered, his mouth gaping.

"Do you really think I only asked you to dinner out of politeness? Out of some stupid social norm?" her gaze bore into him. "Do you really think I would care at all about anything some stupid trashy paper has to say? I couldn't give a rat's ass what they think of my personal life, if they so choose to be involved in it.  _They_  don't matter!"

"Well maybe you don't care what they say, but I do." Minion responded. Reena opened her mouth to say something back and he shocked everyone by speaking right over her. "You've seen what they can write, how they can twist everything around. I've been there before. I don't want them dragging you down next. You don't deserve that."

"I don't give a damn what they say. I just thought that maybe, after all this time, it would be nice to go out to dinner; I dunno maybe I thought that you might actually enjoy my company." Her eyes shot up to look at him, her emotions clear in her eyes. "Clearly I was wrong." And with that Reena turned about face and stormed out, past the silent Roxanne and Mykael, and out of the Lair. The couple slowly turned to look at Minion; he was stone silent, his expression one of hurt and anger. He bit his bottom lip, staring at the door before he threw off his apron and stormed out as well. They soon after heard the slam of his bedroom door.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

 

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

 

* * *

After the huge blowout both Megamind and Roxanne had tried to get Minion to come out of his room but he had flat-out refused, and eventually had come to not answering them at all. Little did they know that for a good part of an hour Minion had tried calling Reena multiple times to no avail.

Once they had turned in for the night, Roxanne also tried several times with her phone, getting Reena's voicemail every time.

"Hey again..it's me... _again_. Look Reena, I know that you're really upset, and trust me I'm not taking sides; I'd be pissed too...but Minion really does have the best intentions; even if he's being stupid about it. Just, don't stay mad too long, alright Reena? I know you.. and I know how you feel about him. Just...don't give up too soon, alright?" Roxanne hung up her phone and sighed, looking down at the screen.

"And what do you plan to do to keep her from giving up?" Mykael asked. He had been sitting up next to her, skimming through a book. He had been quite surprised how things had come about, but he also had known Minion well enough to know when to stop pushing and just let well enough alone.  _That old cuttlefish would calm down soon enough, after all_.

"Well...that's where you come in." she rolled onto her side to rest her head on his chest as she wrapped her arm around his stomach."And I need an _expert's_  help with my watch modifications. If all goes as planned well...I have an idea. And I really think that it will help."

"Just tell me what you need." he answered simply.

 

* * *

Megamind and Roxanne arose rather early the next morning, knowing that they would need nearly a full day and a distracted Minion if they were going to pull this off. They'd gone so far as to make that morning's breakfast, setting a plate aside for Minion. He trudged out of his room a bit later, looking tired and forlorn, but he quickly tried to cover it up when he realized the rest of his family was already awake.

"Good morning Minion! We made breakfast!" Roxanne said cheerily, smiling at him. Minion glanced back and forth between the two of them before slowly approaching the breakfast nook and sitting on his stool.

"W-uhm...wow... thanks Miss Ritchi." he said, rather astonished. From his other side Mykael placed a plate of bacon and a mug of fresh coffee, complete with a super long silly straw, onto the counter. The little fish looked suspiciously to his friends once more, curious as to what they were up to. Surely this couldn't be about last night?

"What did I do?" he queried. Instantly the pair broke out into soft laughter, shaking their heads.

"Nothing at all my dear Filet Min- _yon_. We just know that well...that you're upset and this is our way of saying that we're sorry..."

"Can't we spoil our friend every once in a while?" Roxanne chimed in.

_Ah..so it was about last night then.._ well he couldn't really fault them...They cared immensely for him, perhaps more than he was even aware bit his bottom lip as it quivered.

"Oh, thank you! This..this means a lot."

Roxanne and Mykael sat down as well and they fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. It was Roxanne that spoke first.

"So Minion...I was wondering if maybe you'd want to hang out today? I was hoping maybe we could look at flowers for the wedding? Maybe get some ideas for centerpieces and have lunch?" Roxanne suggested.

"Oh well...that sounds lovely Miss Ritchi, but what about-"

"Nothing to worry about Minion. I have some work that I need to get done around the Lair." said Mykael.

"And besides, it's been a while since just the two of us have gotten to spend time together."

Minion looked between the two of his friends for a moment; after last night he certainly could use a distraction, but there was still a niggling voice in the back of his mind wondering why they wanted him out of the Lair so badly.  _They're just worried..that's all. You got too upset and now they're trying to cheer you up. Well.._  if it would get him a day out of the Lair and a day off from working, then why not!

"I'd love to Miss Ritchi."

 

* * *

It hadn't taken then nearly as long as they had expected to select the right florist, and to come up with a few arrangements. The florist had promised them a week's wait until they could come back, see the samples, and choose from there. Roxanne was preparing to leave when she realized that she was one short and turned around to find Minion gazing at a cooler of flowers waiting to be made into bouquets.

"You know...tiger lilies and white roses are her favorites." she stated. Minion jumped at the voice and spun around to face Roxanne.

"Oh! Miss Ritchi! I-I-I didn't see you standing there." he stuttered. "I w-was just looking..."

"You were thinking about Reena. It's okay Minion...it's not a bad way to say I'm sorry either." she said; her mind going in the same direction his was.

"Well it certainly couldn't hurt to have them delivered..."

"Delivered? Ooh no... I've got something much better planned!" she turned to the florist who had been waiting patiently nearby. "We'll pick them up after lunch...just tell her what you'd like Minion."

... ... ...

Neither Minion nor Roxanne mentioned the flowers during their lunch at their favorite little bistro downtown. They had discussed potential entrees, cake flavors, and merged into a humorous conversation about how Minion used to send her thermoses of tea or soup via brain bot after a rough kidnapping or when she was sick; all kept completely secret from "the boss" of course.

In fact, it wasn't until they were on their way back home, the bouquet of fresh flowers lying on the backseat, the Minion said anything about them at all.

"I can't believe you think I'm going to personally deliver them to her..."

"Oh Minion! Don't be such a guppy!"

"I am not a guppy. I just...I-I can't do it Miss Ritchi!" he remarked.

"And why not?"

"Well...be-because." Minion replied with a stubborn set to his lip.

"Becaauuse?" Roxanne pressed.

"Because...because I'm hurt too. And embarrassed. And Oh! It would just kill me if she didn't accept my apology."

"That's the thing about apologies though Minion...whether or not someone accepts it, what matters is that you were the bigger person and apologized. But I really wouldn't worry about her not accepting your apology." Roxanne said. After a short moment of silence Minion sighed.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Just trust me."

When they arrived back home to the Lair Roxanne called out their arrival to Mykael. Pinky was the first to zoom into the room, hovering around Roxanne before giving her an affectionate nudge.

"I missed you too Pinky. Now; where's Daddy?"

The alien in question was upstairs in the Lab, waiting rather impatiently and trying hard to hide that fact. Roxanne handed off the bouquet to Pinky; trusting that it would be placed safely into water.

"Ah Minion! Roxanne! You're home!"

"Hello Sir. Did you get your work done today?"

"Hmm yes..you could say that Minion." Megamind replied.

"Sir if you slacked off all day watching movies all day..." Minion said with a stern edge to his voice.

"Well it wasn't so much hero work as tinkering around work I suppose you could say."

"Oh? Make anything interesting?" Minion inquired; there hadn't been any plans that he had known about. But then again the boss did always seem to have a never ending supply of ideas.

"Well I.. oh just a gadget or two." he flashed a glance to Roxanne conspiratorially. Roxanne smirked and left Minion's side to join her fiancé's.

"Actually Minion, he was helping me to finish a project idea I'd come up with.." she glanced to Mykael then who handed her something. She stepped towards Minion and opened her hand, revealing the disguise watch. Minion looked to her, his expression confused.

"Oh...It's a disguise generator." he said, unsure of exactly why he was being handed one.

"Well yes...but well its special you see." said Mykael. "Do you remember Roxanne's idea of loading in different outfits for our disguises? And using faces that aren't of those we scanned from the city? If you wouldn't mind helping me test it Minion, kindly turn it one notch to the right."

Minion strung the watch around his wrist and did as requested; he was surrounded by a soft blue glow before shifting into an exact copy of Megamind.

"Right then. That works; now Minion if you would just hold down that button  _there_  and then one turn to the right." Again Minion followed the request; this time Megamind stayed and the normal leather outfit was replaced by a pair of jeans and a soft black sweater.

"Sir this is...well wow! Impressive!"

"Oh well I really can't take any credit. This was all Roxanne's creation here.. I just helped with the programming."

"It's swell Miss Ritchi."

"Thanks Minion. But there's still one more thing to test on it. Can you give it a second turn to the next disguise?"

Minion, curious as to her vagueness, lifted his hand and turned the watch as directed. He was confused as he looked down at a pair of lightly tanned hands. He heard a soft bowg to his right and turned to see a pair of brainbots hovering there with a mirror. He found himself staring at the reflection of a stranger. The man before him was tall with a broad chest and broad shoulders and a mop of curly golden brown hair atop his head. If it hadn't been for his familiar brown eyes Minion wouldn't have known that he was even looking at himself.

"This is...this is me?"

"Sure is...I combined features from pictures I found online of different people; but I really wanted to make sure that it looked like you; if you know..you were human." Roxanne said. Minion's eyes welled up and he turned quickly and gathered her in a hug.

"Thank you Miss Ritchi!"

"You're welcome. Gotta say...it's kinda strange to get a hug from you without the furry chest and metal arms." she chuckled.

"Now there's all sorts of different outfits in there Minion. And...well, try it on for yourself." Mykael handed Minion a winter jacket, gesturing for him to put it on. Minion was shocked to find that the jacket did not distort any of the lines of the disguise, as had happened in the past when he and Megamind had tried to do the same before. "I mean really, we can't have you going out there without a jacket, and we can't have you constantly turning the watch every time you go in or out."

"It's fantastic! Thank you! Both of you! Oh finally! I can actually run errands without being stalked or mobbed!"

"Yes well...there is that. But perhaps there's something else you can do too?" Roxanne said, attempting to subtly lead Minion in the right direction.

"Oh yes it will be nice for outings too...dinners and.. _oh. Oh!_ But...what if-"

"Remember what we talked about in the car Minion." she said. Minion looked at her for a moment, his inner turmoil clear on his face. Finally he sighed and nodded his head.

"You're right Miss Ritchi."

... ... ...

Some few hours later Minion left the Lair once more and headed for Reena's apartment. When he arrived he stared up at the building, fighting back and forth with himself.

"Just.. go upstairs. It's that simple. Sir and Miss Ritchi went to all this work; it'd be an awful way to show my thanks to put it all to waste!" One he got to the hallway leading to her apartment he slowed his trek to her door and began pacing back and forth. "This is ridiculous" he muttered under his breath. " _I've lost my mind..."_  he stopped, realizing that his rambling had led him back to the elevator. He let out a huff and looked down to the flowers in his hands and was struck by an idea. "I've got it! Reena hasn't seen this new disguise! She'll never know that it's me! I'll just go up to her door, pretend I'm a delivery boy and be done with it." Which was exactly what he was going to do... until she opened the door.

"Can I help you?"

"I uh-uhm..." well this certainly wasn't going as he had planned. He nervously shifted the flowers in his hands, holding them out to her.

"Oh right; tip. Hold on a second." Reena said and turned from the door a moment to lean over to grab her purse from the nearby hook.

"Oh no...that's not it."

"Please" she snorted "You guys do plenty enough hard work, you deserve a little something. Especially for being sent out in this frigid weather." she reached out, offering him a crisp $10.

"No really, that's not it... I-" he stopped his rambling, ready to turn tail and run off.

"Hang on a second... do I know you?"

"Uhm-" he took a nervous step back and she realized that she had unconsciously leaned forward in an effort to get a better look at him. She stepped back, shaking her head.

"Sorry, you just looked familiar is all. My mistake."

"No...actually it's not." Minion sighed nervously and moved to switch the watch off. He looked to her once and turned the switch, changing before her eyes.

"Minion?!"

"Hi..." he said timidly.

"What are you doing here? Wh-what or rather  _who_  was that?" Reena's mind was on overload.  _Just why was Minion back? Had he come to apologize? What was with that disguise?_  Minion shifted uncomfortably, ready once more to turn away. But then something stopped him; some small little voice that sounded very much like Roxanne's telling him to be brave. He attempted a small smile and offered the flowers once more.

"It's kind of a long story. Can I maybe come inside? Explain over coffee?" he asked. Reena gently cradled the gifted flowers, smiling as she took a sniff. They were lovely indeed, and somehow that sly fish had figured out her favorite flowers.

"Sure. C'mon in."

 

* * *

It hadn't even been but ten minutes after Minion left that the familiar chime went off, signaling that someone had arrived near the Lair.

"Did Minion back out already?" Mykael asked jokingly. He arose from the couch and approached the monitors, checking the door camera "Huh, it appears we have a visitor."

"Warden! Nice of you to stop by!" he greeted the older man as he let him in. Mykael noticed the large bag his father carried.

"Thought I'd drop in and say hello. That and well I was starting to run out of room." David chuckled gruffly and set the canvas sack onto the floor with a heavy thump. He looked up to see the very confused expressions on Mykael and Roxanne's faces. "It's all yours son, fan mail."

"Fan mail?" the alien's eyes lit up in excitement.

"This isn't even half of it. Seems my office has become the Megamind Fan Club head quarters." he chuckled again. "Your address isn't exactly listed, so they've been sending it to the one place they knew you'd been. There's tons in there. Minion and Roxanne even have some letters."

"Seriously?" Roxanne took a step forward. She was no stranger to the public eye; she had gotten her own round of emails both praising and hateful in the past. But the thought of  _fan mail_  was something new entirely. Mykael had bent over the bag, picking out a few letters and looking at the envelopes.

"I just...I can't believe it.  _Me_... Fan mail!" he said in awe. David clapped a hand on Mykael's shoulder.

"Seems that you've made quite the impression on people. Children especially." he said. Mykael turned a curious glance to the Warden, who smirked and gave a shrug. "I couldn't help but read a few; I was curious."

"Why Warden Pearce; breaking a federal law. Tut tut." Mykael teased. The older man chuckled, clapping his boy on the shoulders once again.

"I learned from the best."

"Well then, why don't we crack open a bottle of wine, to toast, and read a few of these letters?"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight, Roxie and Blue Boy worked out this watch thing, so that whenever you want you can become  _that_ , just so we can go to dinner?" Reena asked. She had spent the better part of Minion's explanation trying to wrap her mind around the whole concept.

"Well, it's a little more complex than that but essentially? Yes."

"Why?" Reena asked. Minion sighed deeply, wrapping his hands around his mug, focusing on it as he struggled to find the right words.

"It's...complicated.-" He stopped and paused a moment before speaking again. "It's complicated to explain my feelings... I don't even really know what I'm doing. This is all new for me, all of it. I don't understand this whole dating thing; ha-half the time I don't even understand what I'm feeling!" Minion let out a shaky laugh in his own disbelief as he shook his head. He chanced a glance at Reena, who had taken to staring at him in a shocked silence. "But I  _am beginning_  to understand it..or trying to at least." he gave a lopsided smile. "I'm not the best with words Reena, especially around you; I get tongue tied and clumsy and nervous.."

"And positively adorable." Reena smiled to him. Minion came to a startled halt, and merely blinked at her before relaxing once more.

"Do you think you forgive me for being an idiot?"

"I think I forgave you the moment you showed up on my doorstep with those flowers." she smiled to him again, a weight seemingly lifted from her now that that particular argument had been cleared over.

"So..." Minion said; shifting awkwardly in his chair once more, unsure of where to move their conversation next.

"So...you  _do_  like me then?" not one for mincing words she came right out with it. Minion looked back at her before letting out a nervous laugh and nodding in the affirmative. "Aaannd..dating? Or at least one date? You'd want to try it?" she asked.

"I think that'd be nice." he said slowly. "I like spending time with you." Reena smiled at that, she couldn't help but be pleased at that.

"So then why this? Why the disguise?"

"It's called a compromise. I  _do_ want to go to dinner Reena.. but not as me. Please, not yet, not as me. You already know why. So how about me, but with a different face? " he offered. Reena thought it over a moment before nodding.

"Alright, compromise. I can do compromise. Do you think maybe one day?" she began to ask, hoping maybe one day Minion would be willing to appear out with her as himself. Not that he wouldn't be himself of course, but as his physical self. In an absolute moment of bravery Minion reached forwards an placed his large metal hand over her smaller human one.

"Let's just take it one day at a time, alright?"

"Alright. So...do you think you could maybe show me more how that watch works? Just so I know what I'm working with here." she said. Minion gladly obliged, morphing once more into the handsome blonde man that was to be his human exterior. Reena looked at him appraisingly, smiling after a moment.

"Not bad..you know you make quite the hottie."

 

* * *

Roxanne and Mykael had remained on the couch, long after the Warden had left, continuing to peruse their many letters. They'd left aside Minion's letters for him to read once he returned.

"Ahha! Look at this Roxanne! Little Robbie wants to be a hero just like me when he grows up! And little Marie! She wants to invent things; like my motorbike!"

"Seems we've both got some fans." Roxanne smiled to him, shuffling through a few more letters. "And these drawings from children! They're adorable. It's nice to see some actual fan mail for once instead of just hate. I've got a letter here from an old lady who's lived in this city for her whole life, and she says she never really believed you were all that bad to begin with! She's just glad you realized it finally. And this one here, you've made him a real believer!"

She reached over, placing her letters on top of the pile they'd sanctioned off for what they had already read and reached back for the bag. After all the time they had spent reading they still had a little less than half the bag left. She opened the next letter, gasping when she unfolded the papers. The papers in Roxanne's hands were more than just chilling.

She held crudely drawn pictures, from crayon it looked, all of various scribbles of Megamind in various situations of death. The next page wasn't much different, but the next pages sent an ice cold block into her stomach. They contained multiple drawings of Mykael and Minion tortured and bleeding, and Roxanne in the middle of it all, broken and bleeding, with x's over her eyes that meant death for her as well.

"Mykael.." she handed him he pages with shaking hands as she read the last page of the bunch; a letter. "It's Hal." Mykael flipped through the pages in his hands before angrily crushing them.

"He must have somehow gotten the letter through. They normally scan through all the inmates' mail."

"You don't think he has someone on the inside, do you?"

"No, I don't think it's anything but an error. But to be safe, I'll personally go tomorrow, to check in on everything and let Warden know what's going on." Mykael didn't want to let her know of the real worry that was instantly tearing up his mind. "Come on, why don't we get to bed. It will do no good to stay up all night worrying over something."

"But what about Hal?"

"What about him? He's angry. He's very sick in the head, and he's pissed off for a number of reasons.. But I promise you, I won't let him do anything to harm you or Minion or anybody else. I promise Roxanne."

"Alright."

 

* * *


End file.
